


Walking on Air

by SilverMoon53



Category: The Gifted (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Gen, Lauren-centric, Near Death Experiences, Post S1E13, Pre-Canon, near-drowing, the first chapter is pre-canon the second is after s1e13
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-05-08
Packaged: 2019-05-04 00:58:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14581455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverMoon53/pseuds/SilverMoon53
Summary: Two times Lauren goes on a walk.





	1. Then

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr https://cloudcoveronclearnights.tumblr.com/ or on Discord: cloudcover#7167 Feel free to send me a message and just start talking!

There was a small pond, tucked away in a patch of woods not too far from the house. It was a common hang out among the local kids come summertime, when the sun warmed the water and the trees provided cooling shade. Less popular in the fall and winter, when the weather turned too cold to swim and the weak sun barely crested the tall trees. Lauren knew the way there, forwards, backwards, walking, biking, eyes open or shut. She knew the patterns of when people went there, when the older kids snuck there for a smoke or a drink, when the younger kids played hide-and-seek among the branches. Kids her own age tended to avoid it when not seeking refuge from the sun. Dusk was busiest in the cooler months, midday in the warmer. Dawn was deserted by all but those who had had too much the night prior, unable to make it home. 

And Lauren herself. 

She stood alone by the water’s edge, breathing the crisp morning air in and out, in and out, in and out. The mists from her exhales were lost in the thin fog, not yet burned away by January’s weak sun. Around her were the sounds of the world waking up, birds warming their voices and small rodents scurrying around the fallen leaves. Her eyes were closed: she didn’t need to see to know what her surroundings looked like.

This was far from her first solo visit. 

It had started a few months ago. Some of her memories of that night were fuzzy, fractured, while others stood clear and strong in her mind. A drive home from church, an oncoming truck, a near crash. A new power, manifested in a moment of panic. A new fear, this one long-lasting, unrelenting, of getting discovered. A new need, to find a place to practice, where she wouldn’t be discovered. 

Lauren knew this spot wouldn’t be safe forever. Even if her parents kept buying her excuse of morning jogs, spring and summer were edging closer, and her sanctuary would be crawling with kids. She wasn’t too concerned about that, though the thought still squirmed in the back of her mind. She reminded herself that she had used the last months wisely, that she had good control over her powers. She was no longer worried about losing control of her ability, no longer terrified of her appearance changing to match her mutation. 

Part of her felt guilty about all the lies she had told. Lies to friends, lies to family, lies to herself. But this was her burden to bear, and all attempts to bring it up had been swallowed by fear. She thought about coming clean now, when she was in control of herself, the thought dismissing itself as quickly as it came up. Her world was a tower of carefully crafted lies already, and would come crashing down with the smallest truth. The lie was more a part of her than the truth.

Lauren shook her head from these thoughts. She was on a mission, and needed to focus. Eyes still closed, she inched forward until she heard the ice crack softly under her toes. She stopped and reached out with her mind, feeling the air around her. 

It was hard to explain how she did what she did, not that she really needed to. As long as she understood how to control it, how it worked didn’t matter. 

Eyes open now, she lifted her arms and willed the air to take shape. A shimmering bridge formed over the water where there had been nothing and Lauren smiled. Taking a deep breath and still focusing on holding the air together, she took a step forward. The bridge held. She took another step. The bridge held.

Heart pounding with excitement, Lauren kept walking until she stood on air above the middle of the pond. 

The bridge was slippery, not unlike the ice she stood above, and curved slightly. The bubbles overlapped, making the surface just uneven enough to gain some traction. It wasn’t something she could run across, and each step had to be careful and calculated, but it was possible. 

Lauren was literally walking on air. 

In that moment of elation, Lauren threw her head back and laughed. It was louder and more genuine than any she had laughed since discovering her powers, and was cut off sharply when - her concentration broken - the bridge vanished from beneath her. 

Lauren had enough time to mentally curse herself out for trying this above a half-frozen pond for the first time before she plunged into the water. 

The thin ice shattered beneath her and the cold water forced the air from her lungs. This wasn’t the first time Lauren had found herself disoriented underwater - distant memories of rope swings and bad dives and somersaults flashed in her mind - but it was the first time it had happened in such cold water. She was a good swimmer, but the warm clothes she had been wearing dragged her down and panic sprung in her chest. Her lungs spasmed, trying to suck in air, but Lauren kept her mouth clamped shut. 

She forced herself to go limp and her eyes to open. The cold water stung but Lauren was able to orient herself. The floor was too far away to push herself off of, so Lauren kicked as hard as she could towards the surface. 

Her head broke the surface with a gasp and a sputter, submerging again almost instantly. Desperate, Lauren made for the shore, floundering through the ice. The cold water dragged at her, reluctant to let her go, but she made it to land. 

Lauren collapsed, shaking from fear and cold and exhaustion. Her lungs ached from being empty and burned from the cold air. 

And yet Lauren simply could not stop smiling. 

She had done it! She had walked on air! Okay, she could have chosen a better place to try for the first time, but she had done it! 

Maybe being a mutant wasn’t going to be all bad. 

Lauren was still smiling when she stumbled home, chilled to the bone but filled with happiness and hope for the first time in a long time.


	2. Now

Lauren had learned a lot since that first bridge. 

About herself, about her powers, about her family and her history. 

About fear, about hope, about love and terror.

She had learned how to angle the curve of her shields, how to hold things with them, on them. She now knew that they could support a truck, at least for a short while, and that they could hold a bleeding man shut long enough for him to be stitched up. 

Lauren had learned about her brother, about his power.

About _their_ power. 

About Fenris. 

She had learned how _good_ it felt, how powerful. Good was a pitiful word for the feeling, for the rush and the strength it gave her, but she could think of no better word so good it was. 

It was more than that, though. It was like a drug. The more she used it, the more she craved it. Even now, even after they had used it to destroy everything, even after the group had split and Andy had left to god knows where, Lauren wanted it. She could feel it, just under her skin, begging to get out. 

She had almost left with him, just so she wouldn’t have to let go of the wolf that had its teeth so firmly in her. 

But mostly, Lauren had learned about her power. 

She hadn’t snuck out of the waystation. In the chaos that followed the silence that followed Lorna and Andy and the others leave, Lauren had simply walked to the door and outside. No one tried to stop her. In truth, she wasn’t sure anyone had noticed. Her mother was sobbing on her father, the leaders of the Underground had been trying desperately to gain some semblance of control and Lauren, simultaneously overwhelmed and numb beyond belief, had simply walked out. 

She did not pay attention to where she was going, simply letting her feet move aimlessly as her hands felt the air around her. She didn’t manipulate the air, simply felt its presence. Thoughts spun in her head but broke before she could focus on any of them. She just walked, breathing in the night air and feeling the air.

It wasn’t until she found herself on the roof of a tall building that she remembered herself again. 

She was standing at the edge, her toes just hanging off the edge like they had crushed the ice at that pond all those years ago. It was a long way down this time, onto harsh concrete instead of frigid water. Lauren had no idea how she had gotten up to the roof, or even what building she was on or how long ago she had left the group. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours. 

The moon and stars were covered by clouds, and she had long since stopped carrying her phone with her. 

Lauren supposed it didn’t matter. She would find her way back by sunrise, tell the others some lie about checking to make sure the Frost sisters were really gone. She probably should have felt guilty about lying, but what was one more drop to an ocean?

Or maybe she wouldn’t. 

Maybe she would lose her balance, up on the roof. Maybe she would fall, and fall, and fall, until she didn’t have to worry about Andy or her parents or her friends or the humans that wanted her dead or or or.

She wouldn’t step off intentionally. She couldn’t, not while there were people who needed her. 

But Lauren couldn’t deny the appeal to the thought. 

She had sat down during her idle contemplation, feet now dangling off the edge. She was still feeling the air, feeling the way it was ever-so-slightly thinner up on the roof. Not enough for anyone to notice, or to feel the effects, but Lauren could feel the spaces between particles. Easier to move them, harder to force them to hold shape. Again, not much, hardly noticeable even to her, but the difference was there. 

Lauren had gotten better at controlling the air. She could move small shields, hold larger ones longer. She was able to redistribute the density to better absorb a gunshot, and knew how to hold several medium shields at once. 

Lauren focused, raised her hands, and formed a small platform beneath her feet. She stood on it, no longer on the roof but hovering next to it. She held that with one hand and moved the other to form a second, a step away and a few inches closer to the ground.

She had tried walking on air a few times since that first time, with varying degrees of success. The greatest failure had been when she had tried to move the one she was standing on. It had moved, but she hadn’t. Lauren had learned, however, not to try new things far from solid ground and had landed without getting hurt. 

There would be no such safety measures this time. 

If Lauren slipped, or misstepped, or lost focus, or any number of things that could go wrong did so, Lauren would fall. 

She could not bring herself to care, instead forming another platform and stepping onto it. 

And so she walked. Down, down, down, a winding staircase that existed one or two steps at a time. Sweat poured down her face as she concentrated. It was nice, in a way, being forced to not think. It was an exercise in concentration and will, with dire consequences should she fail. 

Down and down she walked, some distant part of her mind thinking of labyrinths and their ancient and modern uses. 

Was she the beast trapped within, or the hero sent to slay it? 

Would she find her answers when she reached the end, or be left with more? 

Perhaps she was the labyrinth itself, walls upon walls that let nothing in and nothing out. That would mean there were no answers for her to find, which was just as well because she didn’t know what questions to ask.

Her focus lapsed and her foot stepped onto nothing. 

She didn’t have time to scream. One second she was lost in thought, the next plummeting towards the ground. 

Lauren did not fall long. She had gone further down than she had thought and the ground was just a few feet below her when she lost focus. The concrete scraped her hands and knees, but the damage was superficial. Her heart pounded in her chest and she found herself glad to be unhurt. 

The ground was cold but Lauren allowed herself to lay there for a few minutes. Her thoughts still swam, her heart still ached, and her hands burned along with it. But she was glad she hadn’t died, which was more than she could have said from the top of the building, and for that she was thankful. 

Eventually, she pushed herself to her feet and started the task of finding her way back to the others. 

She had finished her labyrinth and although she had not found any answers, she had found a sense of calm she hadn’t before. She would get back to the others, help figure out what to do next, and do it. As long as there were people to help and she was able to help them, Lauren would help people. 

She still needed to process what had happened, and the inevitable fallout from it. She still had to face a world that hated her and fight the call of Fenris. And she would, all that and more. Whatever she needed to do, she would do it.

For now, however, Lauren walked.


End file.
